Swarming ahead in my top 10 search tips, here’s #5! In brief, again, once more, to re-reiterate, I’ve provided these search tips during some recent presentations and they were well-received by the participants. I thought it would be beneficial to post them here. I hope they’re able to help you with your search efforts.
Top 10 Search Tips – Tip #5 – Always be Testing. This tip dovetails with tip #3: Paranoia. If you think you’re by youself competing for specific popular search terms, think again. Just like any other marketing effort, your competition is always working to get their share – and that share is coming from your pie! The competition for eyes is fierce – especially in popular markets.
Part of “always be testing” has to do with split ads. There’s still debate whether split ads are really effective but anytime you can get measurable response to ad copy, I say do it. Split ads provide the ability to test two different ad copies for the same search term. Such as:
Sample Split Ad
These two ads discuss the same theme but are relatively different. By tracking these two ads over time – say a month – you can get an idea of which ad gets clicked on more. Even though Google/Bing might not display them equally, you can still get the clickthrough ratio and determine which ad is performing better.
Once you have an idea of the better performing ad, split that ad, suspend the other one and modify the new ad slightly. Maybe a stronger call to action or a more compelling pitch. I always find that the current state of affairs helps with my ad copy. Whether it’s the econonmy, the weather or something related to your field, keeping ads current always helps. Rinse and repeat this exercise once a month (or more frequently for high traffic sites) for the rest of your website’s life.
Another area to tune-up is landing page copy. Once eyes get to your website, you still need them to pick up the phone or fill out the form. Make sure it resonates with the reader and gets them to do something. AIDA – Attention, Interest, Desire & Action – the four states your reader should go through while reading your copy.
Onward!
Tags: Search Marketing, Search Marketing Testing, Top Ten Search Marketing Tips